Surnames and Family Research Forum Archive

Also, you can sometimes follow the trail of a slave that came into a marriage from the wife's family. For example, I have 2 separate instances where an ancestor went with the wife when she got married and which was mentioned in deed records. Then, when the husband died in one case, the wife deeded in a "deed of gift" to one her sons the same slave and her children and grandchildren. In the other case, the slave, which came into the marriage from the wife, and her family, were given to a daughter when she married to take to her new home. Following the maternal line of a slaveholder can prove to be very rewarding if one pursues it, and I urge researchers to do that.